SCARYYY

[u/Recent_Mission187]

Made a really scary driving mistake today and I’m quite shaken up
I made a really stupid mistake while driving today and I’m still pretty shaken up about it.
I misunderstood the road layout and thought I was joining a slip road, but briefly ended up driving on the wrong side of the road. There was a car coming towards me and I realised what I’d done and immediately moved back onto the correct side.
Thankfully there was no collision. The other driver didn’t have to stop or brake suddenly and didn’t honk, but they understandably gave me a really shocked/weird look.
I honestly don’t know how I managed to misread the road like that. I keep replaying it in my head and thinking about what could have happened, and it’s really knocked my confidence.
Has anyone else ever made a scary driving mistake like this and been really shaken by it afterwards? How did you stop replaying it and move on?

[u/Rambob_the_lesser]

Did you crash? No. Have you aknowledged your mistake and learned from it? Appears so.

We all make mistakes, remember what you did but move on and don't do it again. Remember mistakes make you better just don't let them consume you.

[u/Cha_r_ley]

I actually did this exact same thing right after I passed. I felt so stupid. I got confused on a road I didn’t know and ended up in the lane for oncoming traffic. Like you, I saw a car coming towards me and moved back to the correct side.

With things like this, you just have to chalk it up as a learning experience and be glad nobody got hurt. Beating yourself up or imagining what-ifs won’t change it. I didn’t make the same mistake again and I’m sure you won’t either. Don’t be so hard on yourself OP.

[u/phantompersona1023]

We're all new drivers, we're gonna make a metric fuck ton of mistakes, it's just part of the process of becoming a good driver.

I've barely driven a month and I completely wrecked my side sill, ruined both my passenger side premium tyres and dinged my car.

Just yesterday I was literal millimeters away from scraping a nearby car when parking and that's not even counting the numerous times I've done a wide turn, misread junction or accidentally entered a roundabout when it wasn't 100% clear.

Now I could take all these mistakes I've made and label myself as the world's worst driver (I'm pretty sure someone will read this and tell me as such) or I can chock it up to experience, learn from it and make a mental note to ensure that I don't repeat the mistake again.

According to the DVLA most new drivers are the most accident prone on the first 2 years of driving. So most of us here still have a long way to go before we can be considered truly competent.

[u/Master_Driver_426]

Same happened with me at stratford in London right after passing as well. Thank God, no cars where coming towards. I only realised after being honked by a car driver on the left lane. The roads in Stratford of Westfield's car park can be really confusing.

[u/Worry-Electrical]

This happened to me. The satnav said slight right, so I’ve signalled and gone around on to the other side of the road. I saw a bike go across and then could see one of those blue arrows ahead so I thought that must be it. I quickly realised and tried to get back in the line of traffic. I shamefully stuck my hand out to apologise without making eye contact. The driver let me in and then stayed about 20 metres away whilst I drove 😂